THE WORLD OF K-DRAMAS - LIBERATION DRAMAS & MOVIES

THE WORLD OF K-DRAMAS: LIBERATION DRAMAS & MOVIES

By Sharon Stern

There is so much happening in Dramaland this month that you might want to consider sleeping as optional.  We are spotlighting dramas that are set during Japanese occupation through liberation this month, honoring National Liberation Day.  There are a number of very good movies set in the same time period that we will list as well.  However, the list of new K-dramas coming out in August is incredible (and long) and we have a separate post for those, simply because of space.  Get out the highly caffeinated beverage of your choice and tuck in for excellent viewing, both new and old.

Just because you don’t subscribe to every streaming service, that does not mean you cannot see a drama or movie you are interested in.  Most of the streaming services offer free trials.  Most can be subscribed to for a single month.  Many offer free content.  We are only listing dramas and movies currently accessible in the US via streaming services.

The period of Japanese occupation was extremely difficult for Korea and Koreans, as you well know.  These dramas and movies deal with some traumatic subjects.  The movies listed deal with difficult subjects more directly and intensely than the dramas do, but the dramas have some very powerful scenes as well.  If you have trigger issues, watch the trailers or look for more information on Wikipedia or elsewhere before going all in.  This history is very important for us to know and not forget.

Liberation Era K-Dramas

Pachinko (2022 & 2024 – Apple TV)

If you haven't read the novel Pachinko by Lee Min-jin, it is brilliant and you should read it.  If you missed the first season of the drama starring Youn Yuh-jung (윤여정) and Soji Arai (박소희), the second season will air starting August 23rd.  This is the top pick for dramas set in this time period.  Get a free trial to Apple TV and watch both seasons.  This drama follows four decades of a family whose main protagonist has to endure deep discrimination under Japanese rule.  Trailer

Nice interview with Park So Hee (Soji Arai) here - the article is in Korean, but the video is in English

Mr. Sunshine [미스터 션샤인] (2018 - Netflix)

Starring Lee Byung-hun, Kim Tae-ri, Yoo Yeon-seok, Kim Min-jung and Byun Yo-han, the series focuses on activists fighting for Korea’s independence.  This is number two pick.  Trailer

Chicago Typewriter [시카고 타자기] (2017 - PlutoTV)

Starring Yoo Ah-in, Im Soo-jung, and Go Kyung-pyo this drama is about three resistance fighters from the 1930s, reincarnated as a writer, a ghostwriter and a fan, all haunted by their past lives.  Trailer (not a quality trailer and the drama is a little weak on history)

Bridal Mask [각시탈] (2012 – Kocowa)

The series stars Joo Won as a pro-Japanese Korean policeman in 1930s Korea.  He eventually changes sides and works to defeat the Japanese.  Trailer

Different Dreams [이몽] (2019 – Kocowa, Viki)

This series stars Lee Yo-won, Yoo Ji-tae, Lim Ju-hwan and Nam Gyu-ri.  The setting is split between Seoul and Shanghai during the Japanese occupation.  Lee Yo-won’s character is a doctor who was raised by a Japanese family who becomes a spy for the Korean government.  Trailer

Liberation Era Movies

Assassination [암살](2015 - Apple TV, Kocowa, Viki)

Set in Seoul and Shanghai during the Japanese occupation, featuring resistance fighters plotting to assassinate a high-ranking Japanese officer.  Trailer

Mal-Mo-E: The Secret Mission [말모이](2019 - Kocowa, Viki)

Based on a true story, this dramedy shows a group of Koreans secretly producing a hangul dictionary to try to preserve the Korean language (and all of its regionalisms) that has been banned by the occupying Japanese.  Trailer

Anarchist from Colony [박열] (2017 - Kocowa)

This biographically true story is about an anarchist and revolutionary that organizes a group to assassinate Japan’s Crown Prince during Japanese occupation.  Trailer

The Battle: Roar to Victory [봉오동 전투] (2019 - Kocowa, Viki)

This period war drama film revolves around the Battle of Fengwudong between Korean independence militias and Japanese forces in 1920 during the Japanese occupation of Korea.  Trailer

The Last Princess [덕혜옹주] (2016 – Amazon Prime)

This film follows the last princess of Joseon, forced to move to Japan at age 13 and who can only return to Korea at the end of her life.  Trailer

The Silenced [경성학교: 사라진 소녀들] (2015 - Tubi)

This mystery-thriller takes place in a girls’ sanatorium where the girls are getting sick and dying because the Japanese are using them to test a supposed performance-enhancing drug.  Trailer

Snowy Road [눈길] (2015 - PlexTV)

This drama tells the story of two teenage girls taken as sex slaves during occupation.  Trailer

Love, Lies [해어화] (2016 - Tubi, Amazon Prime)

This film features two gisaeng (state prostitutes) in training in 1943.  Wanting to be singers, they concentrate on traditional music when the first iteration of pop music (trot) is becoming popular in Korea.  The film was praised for its detailed depiction of wartime Seoul.  Trailer

Herstory [허스토리] (2018 - Viki)

This is a film about a true trial that took place in the 1990s by a group of women from Busan against the Japanese government because they were forced to be sex slaves during the occupation.  It isn’t set during the occupation, but tells true stories of women that were there.  Trailer